Flooding Expected in Illinois

The floods of 2013 were a surprise. The floods of 2014 won't be. Jonathon Monken, director of the Illinois Emergency Management Agency, says the snowpack – twice the normal amount –backs up this year’s flood forecast, for spring flooding in the state, particularly “significant” flooding in Northern Illinois. That contrasts to last year, when a surprise downpour brought floods – almost immediately contradicting the 2013 forecast.

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In fact, you could call flooding the No. 1 natural disaster in the state. Definitely,” says Monken. “In terms of the dollars of damage, the frequency that we see the declarations for disaster, and the frequency (with which) we deal with it, floods are certainly No. 1. That’s the challenge of Illinois. It’s not exactly a rare thing that we have snow issues, ice, tornadic activity, all of those things taken together. Overall preparedness is an important thing in Illinois.”